Earthly Bodies and Heavenly Bodies
Posted: Wednesday, March 25, 2009
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
I often find myself in a good-natured discussion with someone concerning man's condition in the by and by. I'll be the first to admit that I cannot comprehend any state separate from the physical being. But I will argue you down that the physical body, such as we have right now, will not be our abode in the hereafter.
Then in 1 Corinthians 15:50; Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (NASV)
'Nuff' said. So what will we be?
Let's let Paul continue with his views, in verses 52 through 54: "Behold I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."
It is my contention that those of us who die before the return of Jesus comes, will never again be seen in this flesh and blood body. Why should we? Why would God round up all the molecules of dirt, ashes, etc and rebuild this old body for us just so he could change us? No, flesh and blood will all be discarded by us and we will be something far greater...not physical, but spiritual!!
Let us get one more viewpoint, which is John's, in 1 John 3:2-3; "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
With all this, we can see for sure that we will be the same type being as is God! And we know that God is a spirit. This answers some of the questions. Now if we can only determine just what a spirit is. My feeble concept of a spirit is a mentality, a mind if you will, the intellect. And you may ask, how can an intellect function or even survive outside a human brain? Well, I don't know the answer to that. But I believe that God can arrange that. How can we see without eyes? God is the light and I believe that he can arrange that, too. Without a physical body, there will be no physical pain...there's nothing to hurt. Without a physical body, there is no need for food...you couldn't eat it if you tried. You see, with the absence of the physical body, all the lusts of the flesh will cease. In the absence of the flesh, there will be nothing to give forth pain, fatigue, cold sensations, heat sensations, and on and on.
What dies? The physical being dies. When God said in Genesis 1:26 "And God Said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness." He had reference to the Spirit of man. God is not physical, so He could not have meant in the physical likeness of Himself. It is this spirit in man which does not decay, is immortal and will live forever. Where is his choice.
"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding". (Isaiah 40:28)
Webgazine Columnist.
Hi Joel, Amen and Amen. Well layed out and well said. I am so glad, that I won't have this body of sin and weakness and I am healthy. What a blessings those in Christ who have painful sufferings in this tent. Thank you for sharing this. I know it will encourage many to think past this life. Blessings! TeresaThanks for the kind words, Teresa. I am spending far too much of my time writingarticles for Webgazine. Not that I don't want to, but I feel compelled to write some about Jesus and His coming.
This is a very interesting topic. I agree the glorified body will not be the same as the present body, but I strongly believe there is a bodily resurrection and the body will be real. It may be spiritual, but it will be real. Zech 12:8 and Mt 22:30 both speak of the new body being similar to that of an angel. No matter what the substance is, there is a reality which is in some way bodily, though in a "glorified" condition which is of eternal stuff. This was a very good post. I look forward to reading more of your material. Thanks for sharing.Thank you Lance, for reading and commenting. As I said in the beginning of the article, I cannot conceive of a life without physical matter, but that is what it has to be. Your idea of a bodily form is from a scriptural passage alright and therefore I would not take away from that in any way. But I disagree that it will be made out of some kind of stuff as you visualize it. There is going to be absolutely nothing physical in existence. It will be a spiritual body, or heavenly body.
Beside the scripture from 1 John above, read 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 and also 2 Peter 3:10, 12. Those elements Peter is referring to are oxygen, nitrogen, and all the other chemical elements. Spirits are a mentality. Now, I'm not saying that God cannot make a spirit just as vivid in the minds of others as a physical body is in our present condition, even clearer perhaps, because there will be no faulty vision there
Hey Joel it's mark warned from Colorado hello and God bless you!Hi Mark,
What a surprise, thank you man, for getting in touch. I hope you are all well. Write me sometime. I have lost your email addresses that I once had.
Nadine and I are doing well at present except fot the graying hair. I passed 80 in September, did not know I woud ever get this far. We both have our ailments andproblems but, so far, nothing deadly or terminal in nature.
God bless you and yours,
Joel